Blenheim Palace, From The Porter's Lodge

A view in ink of Blenheim Palace, at Woodstock in Oxfordshire, the seat of the Duke of Marlborough, taken from the porter's lodge, drawn by S.H. Grimm. Blenheim Palace was built by Queen Anne in gratitude to John Churchill, who was also rewarded with the title Duke of Marlborough, for his defeat against Louis XIV in Germany in 1704. It was begun in 1705 and the main figures involved with the design were John Vanbrugh, Comptroller (Controller) of the Royal Works and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Daniel Defoe, who visited Blenheim Palace in 1720, thought of it as "a palace too big for any British subject to fill, if he lives at his own expense". The extent of the fabric, the avenues, the salons, the galleries, and royal apartments was so great that he thought it was likely to become a royal palace when the Duke died.